Fix Missing Leading Zeros and Plus Signs When Importing or Exporting CSV Address and Phone Fields in Excel

To preserve leading zeros and plus signs in CSV address and phone fields, reformat the affected columns in Excel before saving the file for import.

When you save a CSV file, either to import records or after you export records, zip codes that begin with a leading 'zero' (0) will appear without the leading zeros (i.e. '01234' would be shown as '1234') and phone numbers starting with a 'plus' (+) sign will not include it upon reviewing the file or data in Excel.
 

You can correct this formatting using the following steps in Excel:

1. Select the entire column containing zip codes or phone numbers within Excel.

2. Right click the column header and choose "Format Cells..."

3. Select the Number tab, and click on the category called "Special".

4. You can then select the type Zip Code, Zip Code + 4, or Phone Number and then click OK.

Be sure to save the changes to your .CSV file after formatting the cells. You can verify whether the leading zeros were properly preserved after saving the CSV by opening and reviewing the file via a simple text editor such as Notepad.

NOTE: If you close and reopen the .CSV file in Excel the formatting may not be preserved. Opening a CSV in Notepad preserves the formatting. Save the formatting of the zip code as your last step before importing records. If you do not reopen the .CSV file in Excel before importing, the zip codes should be imported with the appropriate leading zeroes.